Speakers, including an academic, at a roundtable discussion on Sunday emphasised that coordinated efforts were essential to eliminate child marriage and violence against children nationwide.
They also urged the interim government to take proactive measures to tackle the growing issues of child marriage and violence against children.
The discussion, titled 鈥楥hild Marriage and Violence against Children: Context and the Way Forward,鈥� was organised by World Vision Bangladesh and The Daily Samakal in the capital.
Tania Haque, chairperson of the Women and Gender Studies Department at Dhaka University, stated that issues such as child marriage and violence against children were often overlooked in society.
She emphasised the need to focus on comprehensive family planning, gender-neutral parenting, unpaid care work, and family law reforms to effectively address and eradicate these problems.
Speakers recommended implementing measures to prevent creation of fake birth certificates, introducing online marriage registration systems, identifying area-specific problems, and strengthening local committees to effectively address the issue of child marriage.聽 聽
At the event, World Vision representative Sylvi Pinky presented lessons and impacts learnt from the Strengthening Social and Behavioural Change project, funded by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund and implemented by World Vision in Chapainawabganj, Gaibandha, and Kurigram, aimed at preventing harmful social norms, including violence against children and child marriage.
Referring to Bangladesh鈥檚 alarmingly high child marriage rate of 51.4 per cent and the fact that 89 per cent of children aged between 10 and 14 experience physical and psychological violence at home, she highlighted that the two-year project successfully prevented 552 child marriages through active community interventions and ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance.
The cultural acceptance of child marriage and deep-rooted cultural norms, however, pose significant challenges in changing perceptions, particularly among older generations, she added.聽 聽
